Oops! Cops slash research hemp, not pot

[Liberal_in_LA]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch police who mowed down what they thought were illicit marijuana plants were red-faced Thursday when it emerged they'd ruined a research group's giant, officially sanctioned field of harmless hemp.

Police proudly announced Wednesday that they'd found more than 47,000 cannabis plants, with an estimated street value of nearly euro4.5 million ($6.45 million) concealed in a corn field in the Flevoland province east of Amsterdam.

They mowed down half the plants only to be informed they were the property of Wageningen University and Research Center, a respected agricultural school.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=6998690&rss=rss-wabc-article-6998690

[frebrd]

1. I hope they have to pay damages! Gung Ho dumbasses.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. Serves them right.

[Speck Tater]

3. Just think what would happen if someone discovered a way to get high from corn or wheat.

No more food crops. The DEA would see to it that we all starved.

[d_r]

4. ummm

beer? whiskey? moonshine?

[GReedDiamond]

5. I put "high" and "drunk" in two separate categories of consciousness alteration...

...and even then, there are different kinds of "highs," while drunk is pretty much "drunk." That said, you make the obvious point to Speck's comment above.

Sorry for the nitpicking!

[Sebastian Doyle]

9. Probably wouldn't have much effect on the corn supply

MonSatan would have removed that from the corn like they did anything else useful.

[Taitertots]

6. Doesn't hemp look exactly like pot without buds

47,000 hemp plants must look like quite the bud field. Was there even a sign?

[JohnyCanuck]

7. According to this, they are planted quite differently in the field

From: Hemp and Marijuana:Myths & Realities
by David P. West, Ph.D. for the North American Industrial Hemp Council

Myth: Hemp fields would be used to hide marijuana plants.

Reality: Hemp is grown quite differently from marijuana. Moreover, it is
harvested at a different time than marijuana. Finally, cross-pollination between
hemp and marijuana plants would significantly reduce the potency of the
marijuana plants.

Hemp grown for fiber is planted in narrow row spacing (4 inches apart),
branching is discouraged, and plants are not allowed to flower. The stems are kept
small by the high density and foliage develops only on the top. Hemp plants crowd
out weeds and other hemp plants not equal to the competition.37

Marijuana plants, on the contrary, are spaced widely to encourage branching, and
the flower is the harvested product. Marijuana is a horticultural crop planted in
wide spacing to minimize stand competition and promote flower production. It
branches thickly like a Christmas tree. In contrast, hemp selected for fiber has only a
few branches.

http://www.votehemp.com/PDF/myths_facts.pdf

[Taitertots]

8. But they still look exactly that same, right?

Only someone with knowledge of hemp and marijuana farming would be able to tell the difference.